UICHR Announces 2019 OCOB Selection

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Each fall, the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights (UICHR) selects a book that addresses human rights and social justice issues for its community reading program, One Community, One Book (OCOB). The aim of OCOB is to bring together the University of Iowa campus and the surrounding communities through discussions and events centered on the year’s selection. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the UICHR and of the One Community, One Book program.

The 2019 selection, The Faraway Brothers, tells the story of identical twin brothers who are forced to leave their home in El Salvador under the brutal conditions of war and violence. They make their way to Oakland, California where they have to adjust to their new lives. Author Lauren Markham’s storytelling captures rich and nuanced insight into the migrant experience. Of the book, The New York Times’ Jennifer Senior writes, “'The Far Away Brothers' is impeccably timed, intimately reported and beautifully expressed. Markham brings people and places to rumbling life; she has that rare ability to recreate elusive, subjective experiences . . . without taking undue liberties.”

We are pleased to announce that the 2019 OCOB programming will include a visit from author Lauren Markham on October 4, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in 240 Art Building West (ABW) on the University of Iowa campus. This year’s OCOB author visit and her appearance will be a part of the Iowa City Book Festival co-sponsored by Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature.